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Experimental study on mechanical properties of methane-hydrate-bearing sediments

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Abstract

Mechanical properties of methane hydrate-bearing-sediments (MHBS) are basic parameters for safety analysis of hydrate exploration and exploitation. Young’s modulus, cohesion, and internal friction angle of hydrate-bearing sediments synthesized in laboratory, are investigated using tri-axial tests. Stress-strain curves and strength parameters are obtained and discussed for different compositions and different hydrate saturation, followed by empirical expressions related to the cohesion, internal friction angle, and modulus of MHBS. Almost all tested MHBS samples exhibit plastic failure. With the increase of total saturation of ice and methane hydrate (MH), the specimens’ internal friction angle decreases while the cohesion increases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Hydrodynamics and Ocean Enginnering, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China

    Xu-Hui Zhang, Xiao-Bing Lu & Shu-Yun Wang

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

    Li-Min Zhang

  3. Research Centre, China Ocean Oil Co., 100027, Beijing, China

    Qing-Ping Li

Authors
  1. Xu-Hui Zhang
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  2. Xiao-Bing Lu
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  3. Li-Min Zhang
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  4. Shu-Yun Wang
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  5. Qing-Ping Li
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Correspondence to Xu-Hui Zhang.

Additional information

The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11102209 and 11072245), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863) and the Key Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX2-YW-L02).

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Zhang, XH., Lu, XB., Zhang, LM. et al. Experimental study on mechanical properties of methane-hydrate-bearing sediments. Acta Mech Sin 28, 1356–1366 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-012-0142-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-012-0142-3

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